Rupp Arena

location	432 West Vine Street Lexington, KY 40506
Coordinates	Template:Coord
Broke ground	June 21, 1974
opened	November 28, 1976
owner	Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government
Operator	Central Bank Center
Surface	Cawood's Court
Construction cost	$53 million ($216 million in 2012 dollars)
Architect	Ellerbe Becket
General Contractor	Huber, Hunt & Nichols
tenants	Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball (NCAA) (1976–present) Lexington Horsemen (AF2) (2003–2009) Kentucky Thoroughblades (AHL) (1996–2001) Lexington Men O' War (ECHL) (2002–2003)
seating_capacity	20,545 (Basketball) 18,300 (Hockey) 7,550 (Arena Football) 5,000-20,545 (Concerts)

Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (originally Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility owned by an arm of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, which is located next to the Lexington Hyatt and Hilton hotels. Rupp Arena also serves as home court to the University of Kentucky men's basketball program, and is named after legendary former Kentucky coach, Adolph Rupp. When it opened, it was the largest arena designed specifically for basketball in the United States, with a capacity of 23,500. However, a major renovation completed in 2019 has reduced the capacity to 20,545. In Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team regularly led the nation in college basketball home attendance before the 2019 renovation. The arena also regularly hosts concerts, conventions, and shows.

History

The arena's primary tenant is the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball program, but the Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team has also hosted games there in recent years, particularly an upset in early 2006 of the #1 Tennessee Lady Vols. Rupp Arena was the host of the 1985 NCAA Final Four, won in an upset by eighth-seeded Villanova. It also formerly hosted the Kentucky Thoroughblades (currently the Worcester Sharks) (capacity 10,011) and the Lexington Men O' War (capacity 7,500) minor-league hockey teams, and the Lexington Horsemen arena football team (capacity 7,550), numerous concerts (theater capacity 2,300; concert hall 10,000; arena capacity 23,500), conventions, and other events. It is named after UK coaching legend Adolph Rupp, and opened in 1976, a little more than a year before Rupp's death in late 1977. Since the 1985 Final Four, Rupp Arena has hosted a number of NCAA Tournament regional games, most recently in 2007. Rupp Arena is scheduled to host second and third round NCAA Tournament games in 2013. Rupp Arena is also home to Kentucky's high school boy's basketball Sweet Sixteen, a single elimination tournament which determines the state champion with sixteen teams representing each of Kentucky's regional high school champions.

Seating arrangement

The arena's most recent renovation, completed in 2019 as part of a larger upgrade to the convention center, saw about half of the upper seating bowl converted from bleachers to chair-back seating, reducing the official basketball capacity to 20,545.

Before the 2019 renovation, the arena packed in well over 24,000 for many UK basketball games. This was possible because of the original all-bleacher configuration of the upper seating bowl; the only chair-back seats were in the lower bowl, which holds about 10,000. The lower bowl also incorporates a student standing-room area called the "eRUPPtion Zone" behind one goal. The upper bowl originally consisted entirely of bleacher bench seats that allow more capacity than chair-back seats. Unlike many arenas built in the following years, it has no luxury suites, and none of its renovations have added them. However, in 2001 the arena received some minor renovations including: four oversize video boards, new lower bowl seating, new locker rooms and a new court. The demand for UK basketball tickets is so overwhelming that adding suites would inevitably reduce the capacity and possibly lead to a fan backlash. Due to the success of the many great players, coaches, and teams of the University of Kentucky, Rupp Arena has the reputation as one of the most intimidating venues for opposing teams in college basketball.

Milestones

• The ceremonial first basket in the new facility was sunk by Adolph's young grandson Chip (Adolph III), who went on to play college basketball at Southeastern Conference (SEC) rival Vanderbilt.
• Rupp staged three Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournaments between 1982 and 1993; it was also the host of the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament in 1992 and 1993.
• It hosted WWE Backlash in 2006.
• The Rupp Arena attendance record was set on January 2, 2010, when 24,479 people watched #3 Kentucky play rival Louisville. The final score was a 71-62 victory by the Kentucky Wildcats.

File:RupparenaK.JPG

University of Kentucky cheerleaders at Rupp Arena during a basketball game.

• The UK men are the only basketball program in the SEC that plays home games in an off-campus facility. All of the other programs play on-campus, including the UK women, who play in the men's former home of Memorial Coliseum. However, when the women's program expects an unusually large crowd, it will shift an occasional game to Rupp; they notably upset then top-ranked Tennessee there on January 26, 2006.
• Rupp is also home to the annual KHSAA State Basketball Championship, with teams from throughout the commonwealth appearing for a shot at the state title.
• Rupp Arena is the home court of the Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball Team, and Kentucky Men's Basketball now boasts an overall Rupp Arena record of 486-61 (.888) since beginning play there in November of 1976.
• The University of Kentucky has led the nation 24 times (which is a NCAA record) in NCAA Men's Basketball home attendance since the 1976-77 season (the 35 seasons at Rupp Arena), including 16 out of the last 17 seasons, and the last 7 seasons in a row.
• On December 21, 2009, in Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Men's basketball team became the first college basketball program to win 2000 games, in an 88-44 win against the Drexel University Dragons.
• Rupp Arena hosted the August 2, 2011 tapings of SmackDown and WWE Superstars, with the former set to air on August 5, 2011, and the latter having aired on August 4, 2011.

NCAA Tournament games

File:OldRuppfloor.jpg

The old center court welcomes fans in the main lobby of Rupp Arena

• 2013 Second and Third Rounds
• 2007 First and Second Rounds
• 2002 South Regional Semi-finals and Final
• 1998 First and Second Rounds
• 1996 Southeast Regional Semi-finals and Final
• 1994 First and Second Rounds
• 1992 Southeast Regional Semi-finals and Final
• 1989 Southeast Regional Semi-finals and Final
• 1985 NCAA Final Four
• 1984 Mideast Regional Semi-finals and Final
• 1980 Mideast Regional Semi-finals and Final
• 1977 Mideast Regional Semi-finals and Final

Attendance record progression

The Kentucky Wildcats have set or broken the Rupp Arena attendance record 25 times since the arena opened in 1976. In those games, the Wildcats have won 22 times and lost 4 times.

Attendance	Date	Kentucky opponent	Result
23,266	November 27, 1976	Wisconsin	Won 72–64
23,271	January 12, 1977	Tennessee	Lost 71–67 (OT)
23,392	February 14, 1977	Florida	Won 104–78
23,412	February 26, 1977	Alabama	Won 85–70
23,472	November 26, 1977	SMU	Won 110–86
23,521	December 5, 1977	Indiana	Won 78–64
23,608	March 4, 1978	UNLV	Won 92–70
23,798	December 15, 1979	Indiana	Won 69–58
23,809	December 3, 1980	Ohio State	Won 70–64
23,875	December 13, 1980	Kansas	Won 87–73
24,011	March 1, 1981	LSU	Won 73–71
24,165	December 8, 1981	Indiana	Won 85–69
24,185	February 27, 1983	Tennessee	Won 69–61
24,203	December 7, 1985	Indiana	Won 63–58
24,288	January 14, 1989	LSU	Lost 64–62
24,301	February 15, 1990	LSU	Won 100–95
24,310	March 2, 1991	Auburn	Won 114–93
24,324	January 25, 1992	Arkansas	Lost 105–88
24,332	March 7, 1992	Tennessee	Won 99–88
24,340	December 23, 1995	Tennessee	Won 89–66
24,459	February 4, 2003	Florida	Won 70–55
24,465	February 10, 2007	Florida	Lost 64–61
24,468	December 5, 2009	North Carolina	Won 68–66
24,479	January 2, 2010	Louisville	Won 71–62

External links

• Official site

Template:S-start |- style="text-align: center;" |- style="text-align:center;" |width="30%" align="center" rowspan="1"|Preceded by
Memorial Coliseum |width="40%" style="text-align: center;" rowspan="1"|Home of
Kentucky Wildcats
men's basketball
1976 – present |width="30%" align="center" rowspan="1"| Succeeded by
current |- |- style="text-align: center;" |- style="text-align:center;" |width="30%" align="center" rowspan="1"|Preceded by
Kingdome |width="40%" style="text-align: center;" rowspan="1"|NCAA Men's Division I
Basketball Tournament
Finals Venue
1985 |width="30%" align="center" rowspan="1"| Succeeded by
Reunion Arena |- |}